Gear Check With Andrew Short

For this week’s Gear Check, we dug through the gear bag of Chaparral Motorsports/L&MC/Honda rider Andrew Short and found out what makes his kit unique to him. Shorty is known to favor lightweight gear and goes to great lengths to achieve it in each of his pieces.

Fly F2 Carbon Helmet, Size Medium

“My helmets are the same that you can buy off the shelf. I like the F2 because the liner is a little better with heat dissipation for me. We make a little cut for the Hats Off device on the bottom so that the tube can go out, because the rubber gets in the way. I helped Fly develop the graphics with Jerry Lathrop a little bit and had an input on their design.”

Fly Kinetic Jersey, Size Small

“For Vegas the jersey has a few iron-ons. I run a size small jersey because I don't like it flapping around. Throughout the year I try to incorporate different features. At Salt Lake City, you want something warm while here in Vegas you want something that will keep you cool. I think the biggest thing is that the front panel needs to be solid because of the roost and then more venting on the sides and the back. But a jersey is a jersey and there are only so many technical functions that you have can on it.”

Fly Kinetic Pants, Size 32

“I cut the liners out for heat and for feel. I like when there is not as much going on with the pants, and it saves a little weight. I know it sounds stupid, but I like it when the liners are like that. I think that Fly is going to incorporate some of this in the future.”

Fly Lite Gloves

“I like these gloves because they are lightweight and minimal.”

CTi2 Custom Knee Braces

“I wear CTi2 knee braces. They have double knee cups, which are kind of funky, but there is a gap there and it helps cover it. I have dislocated my knee caps a couple of times because of it, so that is a little modification that Tom Carson at CTi taught me and it seems to help. I have had four pairs and started with them when I was 18 years old, and they are the same ones I just have redone. I don't know which is my oldest pair, but I have had the same ones for over 10 years.”

Alpinestars Tech 10 Boots, Size 10

“I cut all of the tags out because I hate them when you are putting the boot on and off. On the bootie itself, I cut the tongue and Velcro straps out so that it is more like a Tech 8 bootie. It's mostly for lightweight, but also for heat. It seems like your boots get so much hot air and that helps it a little bit. I have two pairs of boots on the truck for Supercross, and I will wear those all year. They will go into the first part of outdoors and then I will cycle in a new pair as the season goes on. Outdoors is much tougher on equipment and Supercross is easy, especially this year because we haven't had too many mud races. I don't go through too many pairs of boots in a year, they last me quite a while. The hardest part is having a pair of boots at home and a pair in the truck and getting them to feel similar.”